Data on grandparents as caregivers were derived from Questions 25a through 25c. Data were collected on whether a grandchild lives with a grandparent in the household, whether the grandparent has responsibility for the basic needs of the grandchild, and the duration of that responsibility.

This was determined by a "Yes" answer to the question, "Does this person have any of his/her own grandchildren under the age of 18 living in this house or apartment?" This question was asked of people 15 years of age and over. Because of the low numbers of persons under 30 years old living with their grandchildren, data were only tabulated for people 30 and over.

This question determines if the grandparent is financially responsible for food, shelter, clothing, day care, etc., for any or all grandchildren living in thehousehold. In selected tabulations, grandparent responsibility is further classified by presence of parent (of the grandchild).

This set of questions was added to the American Community Survey in 1999 to comply with legislation passed in the 104th Congress requiring that the decennial census program obtain information about grandparents who have primary responsibility for the care of their grandchildren.

The response categories for length of time caring for grandchildren were modified slightly between the 1999 and 2000 American Community Survey questionnaires to match the 2000 decennial census questionnaire. The question has remained unchanged since then.

Before 2006, ACS grandparents data had a universe of people in households (which was the same as that in Census 2000 and the CPS). Beginning in 2006, the population in group quarters (GQ) is included in the ACS. Some types of GQ populations may have grandparents as caregivers distributions that are different from the household population. The inclusion of the GQ population could therefore have a noticeable impact on the grandparents as caregivers distribution. This is particularly true for areas with a substantial GQ population.

The data on grandparents as caregivers can be compared to previous ACS years, Census 2000, and to similar data collected in the CPS (with the potential limitation noted above about areas with a substantial GQ population).